For Spencer Carbery, the payoff from Washington’s blockbuster summer might show up in the most ordinary-looking place: the minutes column.
The Capitals coach said he’s actually eager to see some of his top players log less time, because the roster now has enough depth to spread the workload around. That, in his view, is the whole point of the offseason overhaul.
"We're going to be able to rely on all four lines way more consistently. I think people's minutes will come down, which I don't think is a bad thing," Carbery explained, adding, "If (someone like Tom Wilson) can come down to 16 (minutes), how much more effective do you make his minutes on the penalty kill, getting to a loose puck tog et it out of the zone... it's going to help our whole group."
Washington attacked the summer with a clear purpose: add speed, add scoring, and give the forward group more ways to hurt teams. The arrivals of Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch were central to that plan, and Carbery believes both fit the identity the Capitals want to play with up front.
He was especially animated when talking about Kyrou’s skill set and how it could blend with the size and power already in the lineup.
"Jordan's a game-breaker with the puck, has an ability to break you down with his speed, with his puck skills. He's extremely, extremely dynamic, so to have that on the wing now, imagine playing him with (Aliaksei Protas) and (Pierre-Luc) Dubois, and now you've got two guys that are big, physical, get to the inside, Jordan's making plays off of entries, breaking guys down in-zone, and you've got these two big heavy guys, it's a good complement.
That kind of mix is part of what Washington believes it now has in abundance. Young players like Justin Sourdif, Ryan Leonard and incoming rookie Ilya Protas also give the Capitals more ways to generate offense at 5-on-5, while still helping on special teams.
Carbery has already begun mapping out possible line combinations, but the real test will wait until training camp, when he can see how the pieces actually fit together on the ice.
Even before that happens, though, the message from inside the organization is clear: Washington thinks it finally has balance.
General manager Chris Patrick said that was the objective all along, and he sees a roster that no longer leans so heavily on Alex Ovechkin to drive the attack. Ovechkin led the team in scoring with 40 last season, but Patrick believes the new look gives the Capitals more options across the board.
"This team has been built to be a very balanced team, (we have) four lines that can all be threatening to score, four lines that can defend. We got four centers that can all make plays," Patrick explained, adding, "We talked about some the acquisitions we made and how many 20 and 30-goal scorers (we got) and the greatest goal scorer of all time (coming back), it really melds into our lineup very well and it gives Carbs a lot of options."
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There are other names to track, too, even if their paths look different. Isak Posch has already been traded to Nashville and is expected to back up in AHL Milwaukee, while Tomas Chrenko is staying with HK Nitra in Slovakia for the upcoming season. Antoine Keller remains under contract in Switzerland for next season but is still hoping to make his way back to North America, leaving another layer of uncertainty in a prospect group that is suddenly being shaped as much by health and timing as by talent. [Read more 🡒]